Dhows have carried the trade of the western Indian ocean from times
deep in history up until the present day. The trade between Arabia,
East Africa and India has always been borne on the triangular
seasonal winds which link the litorals of three continents. Abdul
Sheriff is famed for his work on Zanzibar and the East African
coast. His books have shown the integral importance of the Indian
and Arabian peninsulas to the East African trade. This time he
brings all areas into equal prominence. He has in this book given
importance to the great movements of Indian Ocean history which
interacted with the dhow trade, such as the Indonesian migrations
and their effect on Madagsacar. This volume closes with the arrival
of people from far away such as Zheng He with his Chinese
expedition, and the Portuguese Vasco da Gama.This book, and the
succeeding volume which will bring the history up to the present
day, are a major correction to the rigidities of studies based on
separate continents. Water was a faster medium of transport than
any overland system. Oceans and water bring peoples together. This
book is a major contribution to burgeoning Indian Ocean studies.